Change speed gearing



Jan. 1, J. slRMAY CHANGE SPEED GEARING Filed Aug. 15, 1951 INVENTOR.

fi ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 1, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE CHANGE SPEED GEARING Julius Sirmay, Philadelphia, Pa, assignor to Jacquard Knitting Machine Company, 1110.,

of a driven part or machine can be changed at swill.

The invention can be best explained with reference to the accompanying drawing in which an embodiment is illustrated applied (for illustrative purposes) to a knitting machine. In the drawing: Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the device of my invention, suiiicient of a knitting machine also being shown to illustrate the use of the device; Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 22 and 3-3 of Fig. 1, and Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively elevation and plan view of the mechanism controlling the operation of the change speed gearing and associated parts.

It will be understood that while I here show my invention applied to a knitting machine and coasting with. a particular kind of knitting machine controller, my invention is not limited to use with such a controller nor to use on a knitting machine, but that my invention is of general application to machines of various kinds.

The operation changes in the knitting machine to which my invention is shown applied, are determined by the controller pattern 1 carried by controller drum 2 which is driven by a Geneva wheel 3, the latter in turn being driven by the pin wheel 4 which is carried by a sleeve having a V-shaped cam 5 on it. This sleeve is slidable parallel with its own axis, the driving gear 6 for the pin wheel being wide enough to meet with the pin wheel whether the pin wheel (and its sleeve and cam) occupy the left hand position as viewed and illustrated in Fig. 1, or the right hand position when moved thereto as below described. The gear 6 can be regarded as being driven continuously. A pattern chain 7 is arranged to be advanced, more or less constantlyand say step by step, as the wheel 8 is correspondingly rotated by any suitable means, the function of the chain being to permit the controller drum 2 to remain at rest except as the pattern chain may call for changes in the operation of the knitting machine and while the changes are being made. The changes made by the controller are determined by the pattern 1 of course, to call on the controller to make successive changes in the knitting operations, at the proper times, the chain is provided with dogs la suitably placed thereon as will be understood. Each dog, in passing, lifts a roller 9 and thereby oscillates a lever 10 which is pivoted at 11. The left hand end of this lever (as viewed in Fig. 4) is notched to receive a lever 12, pivote'dat 13, which is connected to shift two pins 14 and 15, alternatively, into the path of the cam 5. When a dog raises lever 10, pin 14 is thrust into the path of the cam (the position indicated) and thereby (as the subsequent rotation of the sleeve by gear 8 brings cam 5 against the pin) the pin wheel 4 is moved into position for turning and does turn the Geneva wheel 3 and thus operates the controller. Contrariwise, when the dog passes from underneath the roller 9 and lever 12 falls again (being then shifted by its spring 54), pin' 15 is thrust into the path of cam 5 and the pin wheel moved out of engagement with the Geneva wheel and the latter ceases to turn.

The knitting machine can be regarded as driven by the driven shaft 1'7. To drive the lmitting machine at a lower speed while changes in operation are being made by the controller, than at other times, I interpose the highand low-speed or change-speed gearing between the drive shaft 16 of the machine and the driven shaft 1'7, organizing it for selective operation coincidently with that of the controller.

In its preferred form this gearing includes a bevel gear 18 loose (i. e., free to rotate) on shaft 16 and permanently meshing with a like gear 19, secured to the driven shaft 17, reduction gears 20 and 21 secured to a countershaft 22 and meshing respectively with gears 23 and 24, which (like 18) are loose on shaft 16, gear 23 being however attached to or integral with the gear 18 (the two in effect constituting a single gear), and clutches to alternately attach the shaft 16 to gears 18 and 24, so that the connection between gear 18 and shaft 16 is either direct, through the clutch adjacent 18, or indirect, through'the' reduction gears 20 and 21 and the end gears 23 and 24. Preferably the two clutches are alike, preferably both are friction clutches, and preferably they are constructed substantially as shown in'the drawing wherein, it will be observed, a sleeve 25, pinned to shaft 16, has its two ends reduced externally to receive brake shoes and the gears 18 and 24 are provided with hollow extensions 27 to frictionally engage with the'brake shoes and provide housings enclosing the friction mechanism. As shown in Fig. 2, a number of these brake shoes 28, spaced by rollers 29, are arranged around each reduced sleeve end 26 and each set is arranged for expansion into engagement with the inner surface of the respectively adiacent gear extension 27, at will, by'means of a cam member 30. This cam member may be a rod journalled in sleeve 25, in part of sufilcient diameter to thrust the brake shoes into firm engagement with the hollow gear extensions 27 but having a flat side 31 which, when brought opposite to the end of the adjacent shoe by the rotation of the rod, frees the shoes of its set from frictional engagement with the adjacent housing 27. The drive is transmitted from shaft 16 to the shoes by a stud 32 on which is a block 33 radially adjustable by means of screw 34. To rotate the cam rods 30, each has an outwardly projecting finger or actuator 35, to accommodate which the center portion of sleeve 25, at one side of shaft 16, is cut away as indicated in Fig. 3, and to interlock the two clutches (to prevent simultaneous engagement of the two), the cam rods are tied together by the gears 36 and 37 which also are located in the cut in the sleeve (Fig. 3) and which are so meshed that when one of the actuators is in position to expand its clutch (as for example the right hand actuator in Fig. 1) the other is in position to free its clutch; furthermore, of course, the gearing 36-37 serves to reverse the position of the other clutch whenever the actuator of one of them is operated. Thus, one at a time, one of the actuators 35 projects farther from the sleeve 25 than its companion (Fig. 3). The operation of the actuators is accomplished by thrusting a finger or other member into the path of that actuator which at the time is projecting farther from the sleeve. For this purpose I have used the block 40 with its two spaced fingers 38 and 39, slidingly mounted in a fixed bracket in such a manner that the two fingers 38 and 39 can be brought, one or the other, but not both simultaneously, into the paths of the two actuators 35 respectively (see Fig. 1). When one of the fingers 38 and 39 have been newly placed in the path of its cooperating actuator 35, subsequent rotation of shaft 16 and sleeve 25 brings that actuator 35 against the finger and thereby (note the direction of the rotation in Fig. 3) causes that actuator to be thrust to the inner position and simultaneously the interlocking gears 36 and 37 act to turn the other actuator into its outer, farther projecting, positions. Thus at will the clutch inengagement can be released and the other brought into engagement.

For joint operation, or reversal of the clutches at the proper times with respect to the operation of the controller of the knitting machine operations, the sliding block 40 can be coupled to the lever 10 which receives the' thrusts of the dogs 7a of the primary pattern chain 7, the arrangement being such that when and so long as a dog or dogs 7a holds or hold the controller in operation, the clutch at the right hand in Fig. 1 is in action and therethrough the driven shaft 17 is driven at the lower speed; and so long as there is no dog 7a underneath the roller 9 the clutch at the .left in Fig. 1 is in engagement and thereby the shaft 17 is driven at its higher speed. This can be done conveniently by a lever or lever system, as represented in the present instance by the lever 44, hinged at 45 and yoked to block 40 at 46, sliding rod 47 normally thrust to the right (as viewed in Fig. 1) by spring 48 and pinned or yoked at 49 to lever 44, lever 50 for pulling the rod 47 against the thrust of the spring (see Fig. 5), and the bell crank lever 53 so connecting the roller lever 10 with lever 50 (see Figs. 1, 4 and 5) that the passage of a dog 7a underneath roller 9 causes lever 50 to retract rod 47 against the thrust of spring 48. As roller 9 falls oir a dog 7a. spring 48 returns the block 40 and the levers to their initial positions of course.

In brief, it will be observed, the operation of the mechanism described is as follows: The power or driving shaft 16 (driven by pulley 54 and belt 55) is assumed to be in continuous rotation at, say, a uniform speed; also gear 6 at the controller is assumed to be in continuous rotation, and primary pattern chain 7 is assumed to be advancing continuously or step by step, gear 6 and chain 7 being driven (by connections not shown) by shaft 16 or shaft 17 or otherwise. As a dog 7a passes underneath and thereby raises roller 9, the various parts assume the positions shown in Fig. 1. That is to say, lever 10 is shifted, and thereby finger 39 of sliding block 40 is positioned in the path of the right hand clutch actuator 35 so that the subsequent turning of shaft 16 engages this actuator with finger 38 and the actuator is turned to its inner position, thereby bringing the right hand clutch or brake shoes into action and releasing the left hand clutch this action has already taken place in Fig. l, and accordingly driven shaft 17 is now rotating at its lower speed (the drive being through the reduction gears 20 and 21); the shifting of lever 10 has also brought pin 14 into, and removed pin 15 from, the path of the cam 5, so that soon the continued rotation of gear 6 and gear-pin-wheel 4 will bring 5 to 14 and thereby the pin wheel 4 will be moved to the right and engaged with the Geneva wheel 3. The controller will then be in operation, the drum 2 being turned step by step by the pin wheel 4. This state of affairs will continue, the controller making changes and adjustments in the knitting machine and the driven shaft 17, and hence the knitting machine, operating at a relativelyslow speed, until the dog 7a (or the last of a series of these dogs) is withdrawn from underneath the roller 9. When this occurs, lever 10 will shift back again (roller 9 falling to the chain 7 itself), either by gravity or under the thrust of spring 48. This movement of lever 10 will permit spring 48 to shift block 40 to the right (as viewed in Fig. 1), thus bringing finger 38 into the path of the (now projecting) left hand clutch actuator 38 (and removing finger 39 from the path of its actuator), whence the continued turning of shaft 16 will bring this actuator against finger 38, the actuator will be moved by this engagement into its inner position, and thereby the left hand clutch (adjacent bevel gear 18) will be engaged and the other clutch or clutches be released. The same shifting of lever 10 back to its initial position (on roller 9 falling from a dog 70) permits lever 12 to be shifted by its spring 54, so that pin 15 is now thrust into the path of cam 5 and the companion pin 14 is withdrawn, whence the subsequent turning of gear 6 and gear-pin-wheel 4 will cause cam -5 to coact with pin 15 to slide the pinwheel 4 to the left and out of engagement with the Geneva wheel 3. As a result of-these actions the driven shaft 17 (and hence the knitting machine) is now driven at the higher speed (shaft 16 now driving to 18 direct), and the knitting machine controller is at rest, inoperative. This condition will continue until another dog appears underneath roller 9, this beginning a new cycle. While I have described shaft 16 as the driving shaft and shaft 1'! as the driven shaft, it will be apparent that the drive can be reversed and, in effect, shaft 17 drive shaft 16; the following claims are to be understood accordingly. In general, it will be understood that my invention 4 is not limited to the mechanism and details of construction and operation here illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In a change speed gearing, the combination of a drive device, a driven device, a plurality of gears loose from one of said devices, means connecting each of said gears to the other of said devices, means to connect each of said gears to the said one of said devicesand including a revolving projecting actuator, displaceable circumferentially in substantially its plane of revolution, and means, movable into and out of the path of said actuator, to be struck by the actuator as the latter revolves to knock said actuator to a new position in its plane of revolution.

2. In a change speed gearing, the combination of a drive device, a driven device, a plurality of gears loose from one of said devices, means to connect each of said gears to the other of said devices for driving, friction clutch means to connect said gears to said one of said devices, means to operate said friction clutch means including a revolving projecting actuator, displaceable. circumferentially in substantially its plane of revolution, and means, movable into and out of the path of said actuator, to be struck by the actuator as the latter revolves to knock said actuator to a new position in its plane of revolution and thereby operate said friction clutch means.

3. In a change speed gearing, the combination of a drive device, a driven device, one of said devices including a shaft, a plurality of gears loose on said shaft, means to connect said gears to the other of said devices, means to connect said gears to said shaft including a plurality of projecting actuators revolving with said shaft,

means interconnecting said actuators to actuate one from another in the reverse sense, so that one gear is disconnected from said shaft as another is connected thereto, and means, movable into and out of the paths of said actuators, to be struck by said actuators as the latter revolve to knock said actuators to new positions.

4. The subject matter of claim 3, characterized by the fact that said means "interconnecting said actuators is a set .of intermeshing gears connected to different actuators.

' 5. The subject matter of claim 3, characterized by the fact that said means which is movable into and out of the path of said actuators, is a member movable substantially parallel to the axis of said shaft.

6. The subject matter of claim 3, characterized by the fact that saidmeans to connect said gears to said shaft includes an individual friction clutch for each of said gears.

JULIUS SIRMAY. 

